This is an opinion piece written by JFCY PLE Team volunteer, Cemone Morlese.
It does not reflect the ideas or opinions of JFCY as a whole.
Summary
The student protest in Quebec started months ago over government
legislation raising tuition fees for university students. Daily gatherings of
thousands caught international attention, but a new law attempting to control
these gatherings turned this protest over tuition into a fight over the
constitutional rights of Canadian citizens.
Bill 78 was passed into law on May 18, 2012 by the Quebec government in
order to control the protests. The controversy stems from one main issue. The
law has strict guidelines on where and how many people can protest at any given
time. It states that the police must be informed with a detailed itinerary of
any public demonstrations involving more than 50 people at least eight hours in
advance. Also, police have the right to order a protest to be moved to another
location.
Many believe this is a clear violation of our fundamental rights
and freedoms as Canadians to express ourselves and to protest peacefully.
Supporters of the bill argue that implementing it was necessary due to the
increasing violence and property damage that was taking place during the
strike. Some students who were still trying to attend school were being either
verbally harassed or physically blocked from entering by protesters. This bill
makes those actions an offence, punishable with a fine.
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Cemone’s Opinion
I think this law was not needed in order to maintain the
safety of the public. Yes, acts of violence were being committed by some
protesters, but clearly this small minority was involved in the movement only
to cause trouble. They are committing offences and should be punished; however
all the protesters should not have to suffer by being forced to abide to this
unnecessary law.
The restrictions this law puts in place are unrealistic in
today’s society. With the speed of the media and technology, organizing rallies
or protests can quickly grow beyond the estimated number of people. This now
becomes a crime with Bill 78 if the number is over 50, even if you only
expected 20.
The police can utilize the same technology used to organize
these events (Facebook, Twitter) to find about them and decide whether or not
they need to send personnel to ensure the events stays under control. One of
the main reasons for the protest is to draw attention from the public to what
is going on, so it won’t be a secret when and where any protests are taking
place and the police will be able to prepare for them.
The only good points that come from this law are that
students who still want to attend school will not be intimidated or physically
stopped from doing so. Other than that, I believe this law is simply diverting
attention away from the real issue: the inability of both sides to come to an
agreement about the tuition hike.
On June 27, an attempt by Quebec students to get an emergency injunction suspending six sections of the law was
rejected by the Quebec Supreme Court. A full court challenge is expected to be heard later this summer or fall.
To view Bill 78 click here.
For more information, check out these articles about the Quebec student strike:
This opinion piece was written by Cemone Morlese, a student at York U and a volunteer member JFCY's PLE Team. It does not reflect the opinions or ideas of JFCY as a whole.
